


He thought it said “SATAN”

by Josephine_raya



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Other, Rumbelle Secret Santa (Once Upon a Time), Rumbelle Secret Santa 2019 (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21889945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josephine_raya/pseuds/Josephine_raya
Summary: Belle tells Baelfire stories about her land and her Christmas customs. She tells the story of Santa Claus, and how children from her land send him letters and wish lists by placing them near the fireplace with some milk and mince pies.Rumple finds the letter and chaos ensues. Dark Castle AU where Baelfire lives with Belle and Rumpelstiltskin in the Dark Castle.
Relationships: Belle & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	He thought it said “SATAN”

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Crysania](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crysania/gifts).



Belle had been at the Dark Castle for several months now. It took her awhile to get used to Rumpelstiltskin and his young son Baelfire, and they had to get used to her too. Belle didn’t seem afraid of The Dark One, and she certainly wasn’t afraid of Baelfire. The boy was just as lonely as his father, since there were no other children in the castle, and the children from the surrounding villages didn’t want to play with him; too afraid to be turned into snails.

But now that Belle was settled, Baelfire seemed to be much happier. They often went exploring the castle and the surrounding gardens, and when Rumple gave her a library she would read stories to him after dinner or tell the stories of her childhood. They were the same ones her mom told her.

* * *

The castle being in the mountains meant it got cold fast. The curtains Belle pulled from the windows were back in their place. This time Rumpelstiltskin put them back on, not wanting Belle to put herself in danger again, and risking him not being near to catch her.

“It would be a bad investment if I lost my maid already!” he teased.

“Just admit that you like me and you care about me,” Belle replied.

Before Rumpelstiltskin could reply, Baelfire barged in and interrupted them. “Papa it’s snowing outside! Can we go outside and play?”

“I still have to make some potions Bae, but you can ask Belle to go with you,” Rumpelstiltskin replied.

Once Belle and Baelfire were dressed for the cold weather, and outside the castle grounds, Baelfire started building a snowman. Belle fed the few birds who dared to fly high in the mountains some birdseed. When the snowman was finished, Belle offered Baelfire her scarf to put around its neck.

“It’s getting dark Bae, let’s get inside to warm up before I start dinner.” Belle suggested after making sure the scarf was tied properly.

“Oh please Belle, can we stay for a bit longer? Do you want to have a snow fight?” Baelfire pleaded.

“Well, seeing as I just gave up my scarf for your snowman, I think I’ll pass,” Belle replied. But when she saw Baelfire's face drop she added: “But we can make snow angels? It’s something we used to do in Avonlea. Did you ever make one? It’s really easy! Just lay down on the snow, with your arms and legs stretched.” 

Baelfire immediately dropped down. 

“Ok and now what do I do?” he asked.

“Now you wave your arms up and down and move your legs from side to side.” Belle explained. “Now stand up carefully and you can see the snow angel!”

“Wow this looks beautiful! What else did you do in Avonlea?” Baelfire asked, while making another snow angel.

“You know what, I will tell you once we get inside.” Belle shivered. “We did have some special celebrations during the Yule. I haven’t heard you talk about Santa Claus? He was very important during our celebrations. I can tell you all about him if you like?”

That sparked Baelfire's attention. The promise of another story from Belle, and especially from her lands made him jump up and run inside. Belle smiled, maybe if she could get Baelfire excited for Midwinter fest, she could have a bit of her old home in her new home in the castle.

* * *

When Belle returned from the tower to check up on Rumpelstiltskin and give him his tea, she went back to the library where Baelfire was already waiting for her. “Come on Belle, tell me about Sandy Claws!”

“His name is Santa Claus”, Belle smiled. “He wears red robes and a hat, both lined with fur. He lives in a faraway land, and only visits us the night before Yule.. He leaves presents under the Yule tree. But he only visits children who have been good the previous year to leave them gifts.”

“How does he know if you have been good? And what kind of gifts does he bring?” Baelfire interrupted.

“Well, he has a magic book, and the names of the children who have been good show up in the book.” Belle explained.

“A magic book?” Baelfire looked apprehensive. “Papa says all magic comes at a price. What is the price of getting gifts from Santa Claus?”

Belle took a few moments to reply. “Children write him a nice letter and wish lists with the gifts they would like to receive. They leave their letter near the fireplace with some milk and mince pies. So the price will be the milk and mince pies, and you have to have been a good person during the whole year.”

Baelfire seemed to accept her answer. “Could I also write a letter? Or does Santa Claus only visits the children in Avonlea?”

“If you write him a nice letter and draw one of your lovely drawings, I am absolutely sure he will also visit you. I will make mince pies, and you can leave them tonight,” Belle suggested.

Baelfire jumped up. 

“I am going to make a drawing right now! And I already know what I want to ask for!” He ran towards the stairs, almost knocking his father over.

“Ouch! Watch out Bae! Some people are tired from working, you know. Not that our maid would know that… Are you done playing Belle? I am hungry and I don’t smell anything cooking. I heard something about pies?”

Belle stood up and headed towards the kitchen. “Yes Rumple, I will start making the meat pies for dinner.” If she made extra pastry she could use it for the mince pies. And hopefully her little plan would work and she would find out what gifts Baelfire wanted tonight so she could surprise him during Yule. She felt Baelfire needed to feel like a carefree child, if only for this one holiday.

* * *

After dinner Rumpelstiltskin went back to his tower to work some more. Belle and Baelfire prepared the mince pies and milk for Santa Claus, and placed them on a table in front of the hearth.

“Did you get your letter and wish list? What did you ask Santa?” Belle asked Baelfire.

“I’ve got the letter, and I also drew a picture for Santa! But what I’m wishing for is a surprise. I’m sure you’d like it too, though,” Baelfire replied.

“Well, let’s get you off to bed then. We must give Santa some time to find it. He only comes when you’re sleeping.” 

Belle and Baelfire climbed the stairs to their bedrooms.

Rumpelstiltskin was just coming down from his tower when he passed them. “Belle, I was just looking for you! Could you please clean my workroom before I continue my work? It’s a mess.”

Belle sighed “Do I have to do it now? I was just going to bed!”

“You can do it now, or you can do it in a few years when I turn you back from your frog-form. What do you prefer?” he teased.

Belle just shot him a look, and turned around to fetch her cleaning supplies. Baelfire’s wish list would have to wait. She had plenty of time to take a look at it before he woke up.

Rumpelstiltskin went to the main hall. He smelled something sweet. He followed his nose towards the fireplace. Milk and mince pies? What an odd combination. He then noticed the letter addressed to Satan. Did his maid write Satan to save herself from the Dark One? That strange girl and her love for dangerous beasts… But then he noticed Baelfire’s handwriting. Not being able to control himself, he opened the envelope addressed to Satan and started reading.

* * *

“Well, I’m not really sure why you would come to me for a dog, but I’m flattered that your son drew me a picture. I never get anything nice….” The red, horned man spoke. “My dog just had puppies a few weeks ago, you can have one?” 

The man grinned. “And we don’t have to make a deal.”

“No deal, as in free? Why? What’s wrong with it?” Rumpelstiltskin asked suspiciously. He didn’t like the idea of getting things for free. Nothing in life was free.

Satan just waved his hand. “Oh nothing is wrong with it… but I don’t need all these dogs. Just take one. Your son can send me a ‘thank you’ note with another drawing. How is that for a deal?”

Rumpelstiltskin thought about this. Baelfire really wanted this dog from Satan. He wanted it badly enough to try and send the letter through the fire in the fireplace, hoping it would get to Satan through the fires of hell. This puppy would make him happy, even though Rumpelstiltskin couldn’t understand why.

“Ok fine, I’ll take the dog, and I’ll let my son draw another picture for you. Do you also want the milk and mince pies?” Rumpelstiltskin asked.

“Hmmm no, the picture is fine” Satan looked confused. “Here’s the little green beast!”

“Green?!” Rumpelstiltskin looked in shock at the little pup in his arms.

* * *

Back in the castle, Belle stared at the fireplace. The letter and drawing was gone, but the mince pies and milk were still there. Did Baelfire fall asleep before he could place them? Or could Santa Claus be real? No, that couldn’t be. Or could it? She stepped slowly towards the fireplace and carefully stretched her neck to see if she could find any evidence of a fat old man dressed in red coming through the chimney.

“You’re up early!” Belle yelped and jumped backwards from the fireplace .When she swirled around she saw Rumpelstiltskin standing behind her holding a blanket. “I don’t think cleaning the chimney would be useful during the winter months” he teased.

“Did you bring another baby?” Belle eyed the wriggling blanket Rumpelstiltskin was holding.

Before he could reply, they were interrupted by a sleepy Baelfire. 

“What’s wrong Belle? I heard you. Did you see Sa-“ he stopped in the middle of his sentence. “What are you holding there papa?”

Rumpelstiltskin swelled with pride “I have something for you Baelfire. Something I know you wanted more than anything!”

He walked towards his son and handed him the blanket. Baelfire slowly unwrapped it and gasped when a tongue suddenly made contact with his cheek. 

“A puppy!” he exclaimed. He now unwrapped the puppy with more urgency and held the little pup up. “Oh papa thank you! This is the best gift ever!”

Belle looked at the pup and back to Rumple. The puppy looked… odd. He had a green fur coat. She had never heard of a green dog. The puppy almost looked like… Rumple in dog-form. She didn’t understand where he got the dog from. But he must have been the one who found Baelfire’s wish list.

“Rumple, what kind of breed is this?” Belle asked.

“Don’t you worry about that dearie. This is none of your business after all-“ right at that moment the puppy started barking because Baelfire threw a stick into the corridor, trying to play fetch with his new pet. The barking wasn’t like a normal puppy bark. Belle suddenly felt like she had to run far away. A deep, primal fear instilling in her. She looked at Rumpelstiltskin and he looked as horrified as she did. His eyes wide open with fear.

“Rumple? You felt it too, right? What is that dog?” Belle was still trembling with fear.

“Like I said, nothing to worry about! Can you watch Bae for a moment? And give that dog something to eat!” Rumpelstiltskin replied before disappearing.

Back in his tower, Rumpelstiltskin took a few deep breaths. He knew something was up with that dog! Satan wouldn’t have given him a normal dog for free. He took some of his books on mythical animals from his shelves and frantically searched what kind of animal this was. He wasn’t quite sure if Baelfire was safe, but he didn’t seem to be affected by the dog’s barking.

After an hour or so, he finally found what he was looking for! A greenish dog whose bark instilled fear in the people who were unfortunate enough to hear it. This wasn’t a normal dog, it was a cú sidhe! Of course Satan needed a dog like this… He continued reading:

_ The cú sidhe is a harbinger of death and takes the soul of a person to the afterlife. The cú sidhe is capable of hunting silently, but he can let out three terrifying barks. Those who hear the barking of the cú sidhe must reach safety by the third bark or be overcome with terror to the point of death. _

They were lucky this one was just a puppy! He could scare them all to death by the time it was full-grown! Him being the Dark One would have been dragged to hell by his own pet. The dog couldn’t stay. He had to bring this bad news to his son and disappoint him. Again. Why did he even ask for a dog? Who put this idea in his head? He knew who did this, that girl with her stories!

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin slammed the book on the kitchen table. 

“This is all your fault! You and your silly stories! And look where it got us! A demon dog who terrifies people to death?!” Rumpelstiltskin exploded. “You are endangering Bae. We are lucky it’s still a puppy, but what if that thing grows older and is capable of scaring Bae to death with his bark?” 

Belle looked at him with tears in her eyes. He thought she was going to cry, and he felt conflicted about that. He didn’t want to see her upset, let alone being the reason she was upset, but another part of him was angry with her for putting Baelfire in danger. His son was the most important person in his life. But Belle was… not un-important.

Belle took a shaky breath and Rumpelstiltskin prepared himself for her tears. 

But then she spoke as calmly as she could, “Rumple, I didn’t want to put Bae in danger. I merely told him the story about Santa, and how the children in Avonlea would write him and asked him to grant them their wish. It was a story! I was planning on sneaking back down to get the wish list so I could get him the perfect gift for Christmas. You are the one who got him the demon dog, not me! So don’t you dare blame me for this!”

Rumpelstiltskin was fuming at this point, although he wasn’t sure if he was mad at Belle or mad at himself. “You are the one who planted the idea of Satan giving out gifts in his head so yes this is still you fault! Either way, the dog has to go!”

“What? No papa I love him!” Baelfire had just walked into the kitchen, with an excited demon puppy right behind him. “You can’t throw him out!”

“Bae, please… he is dangerous. It’s not a normal dog. He is a demon dog, he is a monster and he could kill you…” Rumpelstiltskin pleaded with Baelfire.

“What do you mean papa? He isn’t a monster. Santa wouldn’t give children demon dog’s.. right Belle? Tell papa about Santa!” Baelfire exclaimed.

Belle sighed “Baelfire, Santa wouldn’t give you a demon dog. But Santa Claus didn’t give you this dog. Your father found your letter and he thought it said ‘Satan’ instead of ‘Santa’. So he went to Satan with the letter, and Satan…”

“ _ Would _ give me a demon dog..” Baelfire finished her sentence for her. He went quiet and looked at his puppy. The pup didn’t realize there was something wrong and was licking Baelfire’s hand.

“Bae...” Rumpelstiltskin started in a desperate attempt.

“No papa. I won’t give up my dog. He is not a monster. I still love him. He doesn’t want to kill me.” 

Balefire looked at his father with watery eyes. “I think he is just misunderstood. Yes, he doesn’t look like a normal dog, and maybe he does have magic that can be used for evil. But I love him!”

Belle smiled. The similarity between the puppy and Rumple didn’t escape her.

“I agree with Bae. The puppy is just misunderstood. There is good in him, even though he is different from other pups. We can show him that he doesn’t have to use his magic for evil. Maybe he can use his magic for good? He can become our guard dog. Scaring away unwanted visitors like the Evil Queen?” Belle suggested. “Besides, I kind of like the green coat. “

Rumpelstiltskin sighed. He realised he was going to lose this battle. “Ok fine. The little beast can stay. But I am going to put a protection spell on us so we will be unaffected by his bark.”

“Oh thank you papa!” Baelfire ran up to his father and gave him a hug. He then turned to Belle and gave her a hug as well. “And thank you for convincing papa to let me keep him”.

Rumpelstiltskin muttered “She didn’t convince me. I am master here, I won’t let a maid tell me what to do…. Especially when it comes to beasts like that.” But Baelfire was already preoccupied with scratching the dog behind his ear.

Belle laughed and brushed by him on her way out of the kitchen. “I think the little beast is all bark and no bite. Just like someone else with a beautiful green skin.” 

She left a stunned Rumpelstiltskin behind.

**Author's Note:**

> I was given the prompt "He thought it said Satan". I hope you like your gift!


End file.
